[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 12374]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              IN MEMORY OF FIRST SERGEANT MARGARET BARKER

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. J. LUIS CORREA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 28, 2017

  Mr. CORREA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in memory of First Sergeant 
Margaret Barker, an honored veteran who passed away just last week. 
Sergeant Barker was a highly-respected service woman and a loved 
community member, and she would have been 100 years old this August.
  Raised in Boston, Massachusetts, Sergeant Barker was the third eldest 
in a family of nine children. When World War II broke out, Sergeant 
Barker felt called to serve this nation she loved and enlisted in the 
Women's Army Auxiliary Corps in 1942.
  She was sent out to Angel Island just off the coast of San Francisco 
and moved on to Fort McDowell, where she served until the War ended as 
a First Sergeant in charge of one of the first all-female, all-black 
companies in the Army. In 2015, Mrs. Barker traveled to Washington, 
D.C. with 19 other World War II veterans to view the national war 
memorial and be honored, and she was the only woman in the group.
  Sergeant Barker was a trailblazer and a maverick, serving with grace 
and distinction in a time when forces were still segregated and 
gendered. Her devotion to duty and her Company earned her the nickname 
``Top'' in the Military, a name usually given to Sergeants for their 
commitment to especially caring leadership. This is just one instance 
of her selflessness, and how highly she valued those around her. 
Sergeant Barker was known for her warmth and resilience, which is 
reflected in the close relationships she shared with her family.
  After serving in the Military, Mrs. Barker returned to her home in 
Boston, where she then married longtime friend, Vernon Barker, who was 
a fellow service member. Together, they decided to move to California, 
where they started their family and made their home in our community.
  Mr. Speaker, please join me in honoring and remembering Sergeant 
Margaret Barker, whose strength and steadfastness identifies her as a 
role model to us all. Her generous and always kind spirit will live on 
in the hearts and lives of everyone she touched, and I extend my 
deepest condolences to her children, Gail and Beverly, and the rest of 
her family. May God bless her soul and her family.

                          ____________________